Rockbridge County’s Federal farmhouses are endowed with a robust, self-assured quality consistent with the independent-minded Scotch-Irish farmers who built them. Although each has its own character, they share many common traits. Locust Hill is typical of these with its use of fine Flemish bond, molded brick cornice, and I-house plan. The house was built in 1826 for John Hamilton, whose father came to America from Northern Ireland in 1771. Hamilton was an active layman in the Methodist Episcopal Church and helped to organize the Wesley Chapel congregation. A 20th-century resident, Col. Samuel Millner, was a highly regarded professor at Virginia Military Institute for over fifty years. Locust Hill’s interior was damaged by fire in 1855 and Greek Revival trim was subsequently installed. On the grounds are a 19th-century log dependency and several late-19th-century farm buildings.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia